Japan
Immigration Services Agency of Japan (a bureau of the Ministry of Justice)
The agency site has a dedicated section on the Specified Skilled Worker system under residence procedures. Check a programme or an offer against it before you pay.
— Before You Fly
Before you fly to Japan
Four things to do before you board: check the offer with the destination's own authority, know your rights, carry the right papers, and get the practical details in writing.
Who to check with in Japan.
Last checked 29 September 2026. Links go to official sites we do not control; treat each site as the authority, not this page.
Your Rights, From Official Sources
What the government and the ILO publish, in plain words. Laws change: your contract and the official page always win over this summary.
Who can apply
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The Agency says it has made memoranda of cooperation with sending countries so that specified skilled foreign workers are sent and accepted smoothly and properly. Its list includes India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Brazil and Bhutan did not appear in the part of the list we read.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: bilateral memoranda of cooperation on specified skills, read 8 October 2026
Recruitment fees and your documents
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An accepting organisation must make sure that the job placement agencies and certified sending organisations it uses do not break Japan's Employment Security Act. The Agency points to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the rules on job placement.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: information about the Philippines (Specified Skilled Worker), read 8 October 2026 -
For Type 1 specified skilled workers, the employer (receiving organisation) must provide support: transport to and from the airport or port, help with housing, information about the employment contract, help finding a new job if the contract ends through no fault of yours, and activities to meet Japanese people. The Agency says the worker may not be made to bear the cost of this support, and that the receiving organisation pays for it, including interpreters.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: Q&A on the Specified Skilled Worker Program, Q76 to Q83, read 8 October 2026 -
Before you enter Japan you must be given guidance that covers your pay and duties and the fact that it is illegal for a contract to include a security deposit or a penalty for breaking the contract. If anyone asks you to pay a deposit or sign a penalty clause, treat it as a warning sign.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: Q&A on the Specified Skilled Worker Program, Q85, read 8 October 2026
If something goes wrong
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The Agency refuses to register an organisation as a support organisation if, in the past year, workers or trainees it received went missing because of unpaid wages or because complaints and consultations were not properly handled. The Agency also runs a Foreign Resident Support Center (FRESC) and a consultation service for foreign residents.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: Q&A on the Specified Skilled Worker Program, Q76 and Q77, and its Support for residents menu, read 8 October 2026 -
For Filipino workers, procedures on the Philippine side are handled at the Migrant Workers Office of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo (03-6441-0428 or 03-6441-0478) or of the Philippine Consulate-General in Osaka (06-6575-7593), which support English, Filipino and Japanese. The Agency lists the licensed sending organisations on the Philippine DMW's website.
Immigration Services Agency of Japan: information about the Philippines (Specified Skilled Worker), read 8 October 2026
Checked against the linked pages on 2026-10-08. This is general information, not legal advice.
What goes in your hand luggage.
Papers, originals
- Your passport, with your visa or entry documents ready
- Your medical and any clearance certificates your destination required
- Your flight details and the address you are going to
Papers, copies
- The employment contract exactly as you signed it, printed and on your phone
- Education and trade certificates, kept apart from your main folder
- A photo of your passport photo page saved where your family can also reach it
People and health
- Phone numbers for your specialist, your employer contact and your family, written down
- Any prescription medicine in its original packaging, with the prescription
- A small amount of cash for the first day, not a large sum
Keep your own passport with you. If anyone asks to hold it, do not hand it over before you have checked the rights above and talked to your specialist.
Ask these before you board, and keep the answers.
Details such as pickup, housing and how pay reaches you differ by employer and city. We do not guess them for you; ask, and get the answer in a message or document you can show later.
- Who meets me at the airport? A name, a phone number that works from abroad, and where they will be standing.
- Where will I sleep on the first night, and after? The address, who pays for it, and whether it matches what the contract says.
- Who is my contact on the first day? A named supervisor or HR contact, not just a company name.
- How and when is my salary paid? Into which bank account, on which date, and in which currency. Paid to you directly, not to someone else.
- Who pays for the flight, the visa and the medical? It should match your contract. If something is charged to you that the contract does not mention, ask why before you pay.
- What happens if the job is not the one in my contract? Know who to call first, and keep the authority above and your specialist's details to hand.
Your first days.
- Tell your family you have arrived, and send them the address you are staying at.
- Check what you were given against your contract: job, pay, hours, housing. If they differ, tell your specialist the same day.
- Keep every document you are given, and take a photo of each one.
- If something is wrong, contact your specialist first, then the authority in Step 1.
Local practicalities such as phone plans, banking and transport are not covered here because we do not publish anything we have not verified. Your specialist and employer can tell you what applies to your city.
Routes into Japan
- India → Japan
- Brazil → Japan
- Bangladesh → Japan
- Nepal → Japan
- Bhutan → Japan
- Sri Lanka → Japan
- Indonesia → Japan
- Philippines → Japan
Full pre-departure checklist · Sending money home · When your contract ends · For your family